2 Boston Bruins playing themselves into a huge payday this summer

When the 2023-24 Boston Bruins offseason begins, it is certainly going to be a very interesting one. GM Don Sweeney will have a lot of projected cap space available and he has several contracts coming off the books. He is going to have some big decisions on his hands and those decisions are not going to get any easier with the performance of two of the pending free agents who are playing themselves into a big payday over the summer.

Here are two players who are to get a bump in pay over the summer after playing well so far in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jeremy Swayman

This one goes without saying. The only reason that the Bruins are hosting a Game 6 against the Florida Panthers in the second round is because of the play of their goaltender. Jeremy Swayman single-handily led them over the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games as the former University of Maine standout has stood on his head in the 11 games he’s played so far. The losses aren’t on him.

Last summer, negotiations between Swayman, his agent, and Sweeney did not go well and it ended up being decided by an arbiter in a hearing, and quite frankly, Boston’s front office can’t fool around this time. Giving him what he deserves is what they need to do as the future is bright with him. He’s the future for years in Boston and there is no need to overthink this, pay the young man for what he has done and what he’ll do in the future.

Jake DeBrusk

This one is sure to ruffle some feathers, but say what you will about Jake DeBrusk, he has been a gamer in the postseason and a factor in most of his shifts. He has five goals and five assists in 12 games, his forechecking has been on par and he had a nice pass to David Pastrnak for a power-play goal in Game 4 to get the scoring started. 

Has he had moments during the season where he goes unnoticed in a lot of games? Yes. Do you have to sometimes look hard to find him on the ice at times? Yes. However, he is a top-six forward who can be a difference-maker, which makes re-signing him a no-brainer. Over the last couple of trade deadlines, Sweeney has not traded the 14th overall pick of the 2015 Entry Draft, and losing him for nothing in free agency would be a mistake. There would be plenty of suitors in free agency for him and he’s surely going to get an AAV bump from the $4 million he’s making right now and he’s earned it.

Both players are going to get a payday this summer and you have to think Swayman will get it in Boston and hopefully DeBrusk too.